Hold open devices for single acting floor hinges



Dec. 20, 1960 w. ENGELS 2,964,783

HOLD OPEN DEVICES FOR SINGLE ACTING FLOOR HINGES Filed June 25, 1958- 2Sheets-Sheet 1 j'yf 15 12 his ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1960 w. ENGELS FiledJune 25, 1958 HOLD OPEN DEVICES FOR SINGLE ACTING FLOOR HINGES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 221 In; M i

i R i y 363 INVENTOR W fi a/fm E72 6/J ZZ i 1259 y nOLn OPEN DEVICES FOSINGLEACTING FLOOR HINGES Walter Engels, Tryon, N.C., assignor toBommerSnring Hinge Co., Inc., Landrum, S.C., a corporation of New York II Filed June 25, 1958, Ser. No. 744,403

18 Claims. (Cl. 1 6 --185 I nother object of the invention 1s of theabove character whichmay be installed in single acting floorhinges ofknown construction.

i A further object of'tlie invention'is to provide a hold open devicefor single acting swingingfdoors'whose hold United States Pat n f toprovide a device ing action is fully automatic, which is simple andcheap in manufacture, and which doesnot requireadditional space in thefloor hinge."

The above and other objects of the invention are attained by theprovision of a hold open device consisting essentially of a'spindle, offollower means, and of retaining means forthe' follower-means, atl'east"'one component partfof the retaining means being yi eldable whenengaged by the follower means, and either the follower means or' theretaining means comprising oneor more elements of at least partlyspherical configuration. In accordance with an imp ortantffea'ture of myinvention, the follower means consists, or forms part of,' a connectingelement which, in thefch'ecking'floorhinges to which my invention rnaybe' a plied, connects the wrist of a cranked spindlewith the checkingpiston,"the'latters function being to retard'and cushion'return'moverne'nts of a door into'closing positionwhen thefollower'means of my improved hold open device is'f'orcibly'removed fromits position of engagement with tli'e'retaining means.

The latterare preferably'installed in the axiallyaligned shafts of the'cranked. spindle,fand. the distance between the retainedportion or acomponentpart of the follower means and the spindles wrist is soselecte'd'that the "former is automatically led into the'space formedbetween the adjacent ends of two interconnected shafts or portionsoffthe spindle to be engaged 'by the'retaining means when the doorconnected with the spindle is swung into: open position, The spindlehasa' neutral position in which the door connected thereto isclosed,andan extreme position in which the door is fopenJ i The holdingaction of retaining-means i'sdue to the provision of'resilie'nt meansconstantly urging the one, the other, orboth components of the retainingmeans into the path of follower means, and, exerting. su'fficie'ntpressure against the follower meansto ,prevent the lattersPdisengagement from, the' retainingmeans under the influence of i a mainspring forming part Of; the floor; hingeand constantly urging thecranked spindle into such position in which the door connected theretois closed,

Thus, theflimprovedj hold open device actually coniprises a' crankedspindle including two interconnected shafts which define'therebetwecn aspace forentryj'of the s a c a s m l an a W ist. afq wer ass mb y onathe mem rabl Plat ubs antia at al. sea ers. the ssist W ig-almonds ot te1 as seen from line 2;-2 in Fig; l;

. sectional view of a' retaining member;

and passing through the aforementioned space, and of retaining means atleast one component part of which has limited freedom of movementsubstantially coaxially with the spindle into the space between thelatters shafts and thus substantially at right angles to the plane ofmovement of the follower assembly.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of m invention, the pistonlink of the checking means which at the same time acts as the followerof the improved hold open device, is provided with at least one seat orsocket for reception of retaining means when the door is in openposition, the retaining means comprising at least one spring biasedspherical element which is receivable in the seat of the piston link.

In another embodiment of my hold open device, the

piston link of the checking device carries a spherical memberextendableinto the space defined by the spindle shafts and receivable inone or two retaining means, the latter being mounted in or forming partof the spindle of the single actingfioor hinge. The spindle, as abovementioned, comprises two interconnected portions or shafts which are sospaced that they definetherebetween a space into which the link of thechecking piston may extend. The one, the other, or both portions of thespindle are formed with bores opening into said space, the spring biasedretaining element or elements being slidably received in their bores insuch manner as to be extendable to a limited extent into said space andinto the path of the piston link. Other features, advantages andattributes of the novel hold open device will become apparent and willbe pointed out in greater detail in the course of the following detaileddescription of certain embodiments selected for illustration in theaccompanying drawings wherein-- 'Fig. lis a central vertical sectionthrough a single acting checking floor hinge embodying one form of theimproved hold open device which is shown in non-retaining or idleposition;

"'"Fig. 2is a fragmentary sectional view of the floor hinge Fig. 3 is aview similar to that of Fig. 2, with the hold open device showninoperative or door-retaining position;

"Fig. 4 is an enlarged partly elevational and partly sectionalview ofthe cranked spindle; i i

Fig. 5' is. an enlarged partly elevational and partly Fig. 6 isa'vertical section, taken substantially at'right angles of the sectionof'Fig. 4, through a spindle embodying a slightlymodified"pair ofretaining members and showing"the" pistonlink in operative position'therebetween; Fig. 7, illustrates in a'section similarto that of Fig. 4a pair ofretainingmemberswith seats slightly different from thoseshdwninFigs. l, 2, '5 and 6, the spherical element forming part of thefollower assembly being shown in door-retaining position; and" i Fig. 8is a section, siniilar to that of Figs 4 and 7, showing a secondembodiment of my invention in which the retaining'means'comprise twosphericalclements the link of the checking pistonconstituting thefollower'of'the hold open device.

,prises a" casing '10 rotatably supportinga spindle formed as a doublecrank 11? whose upper-end l2'extends'above the casing and is ofnon-circular contourtobereceived in the aperture 14 of an 13fixedithereto by a bolt 15 or the like. flhe-lower e r1dof'crankedspindle 11 is .forrned'with an asia l bo rei ltito receivethe vertical"pin I 18;. which is integral with a bearingplate' 11. The latiter is'ofcircular contourjand is screwed into" the bottom Palat sta in 0.-

Spindle 11 comprises a pair of webs 19, 20 with a wrist 21 therebetween.Web 20 has a cylindrical recess 22 which receives the upwardly extendingpin 24 (see Fig. 3) at one end of a link 25, the latter forming onemember of a link train which connects spindle 11 with a main or closingspring 26. Spring 26 is of the torsion type and is mounted between acarrier 27 and an adjusting element 28. The latter adjusts the tensionof spring 26 to meet varying wind and draft conditions. Member 27 has adownwardly extending pin 29 received in the bore of a link 30 which isarticulately connected with the aforementioned link 25 by means of twoparallel links 31. Carrier 27 and adjusting member 28 are rotatablymounted on a vertical post 32 whose lower end is received in a bearing33 integral with the casing 10. Adjusting member 28 is fixed to thecasing in a selected position by means of a number of retaining screws,not shown. Bores 34 in member 28 facilitate application of a wrench oranother adjusting tool.

A link 35 is articulately connected to the wrist 21 of spindle 11 at oneend and with the piston 36 at the other end thereof. Piston 36 isreciprocably received in a cylinder 37. These two elements, togetherwith a needle valve 38, constitute the checking assembly of the floorhinge.

The structure of the single acting checking floor hinge so fardescribed, save for the specific spindle, is known and forms no part ofmy invention. In actual use, the casing is installed in a suitablerecess provided in the floor beneath a swinging door in such a way thatthe axis of spindle 11 coincides with the axis of the upper hinge (notshown) on which the door is suspended. Arm 13 is fixed to the lower endface of the door by a number of screws or the like to impart movementsto the door when the latter is released in open position, and to tensionthe spring 26 when the door is moved from its closed position by anoperator or directly by a passing vehicle.

When the door is closed, checking piston 36 is in the position of Fig.2, Fig. 3 illustrating the piston in its position when the door is open.

When a force is applied against the swinging door and thus against arm13 in such a way that the arm and spindle 11 are rotated from theirneutral into their extreme position through an angle of about 90degrees, link 25 which swings with the wrist 21 of spindle 11, overmembers 31 and 30 in that order, rotates carrier 27 and subjects spring26 to considerable tension suflicient to return the arm 13 and aswinging door connected thereto into closed position when the door isreleased. During movements of arm 13 in a direction to open the doorconnected thereto, piston 36 moves from its position of Fig. 2 into thatshown in Fig. 3. A non-freezing, lubricating, checking fluid is thenintroduced into the cylinder 37 through a ball valve in piston 36 (notshown). The fluid, which now fills cylinder 37, cushions the returnmovement of arm 13 when the swinging door is released, and is dischargedthrough the needle valve 38 whose position is controlled by a threadedelement 39 screwed into the cover plate of casing 10.

The improved hold open device consists solely of spin- 7 dle 11, ofretaining means mounted therein, and of piston link 35. The latter ismovable with respect to the spindle by the wrist 21 in a horizontalplane passing through the space between the ends of spindle shafts 43,45 and comprises a follower element in the form of a ball 40. Theretaining means comprises a retaining pin 41 yieldably installed in abore 42 provided in the upper portion or shaft 43 of spindle 11 andopening into the space between the spindle portions 43 and 45, and asecond retaining member 44 which latter is externally threaded to bereceived in the tapped upper end of bore 16 in the lower portion orshaft 45 of the spindle.

Retaining pin 41 is illustrated in Fig. 5. It comprises 'an enlargedhead 46 whose end face defines a concave seat 47 substantiallyconforming to a portion of the ball 40 when the latter is receivedtherein as a result of which said ball 40 and seat 47 form cooperatingconvex and concave faces for receiving one another. A lateral cutout 48is provided in the peripheral zone of head 46, this cutout receiving ahorizontal pin or stud 50 (see Fig. l) which latter'extends through abore 49 provided in the upper portion 43 of spindle 11.-- Shoulder 52between portions 46 and 51 of retaining member 41 abuts against one endof a coil spring 53 whose other end bears against the upper end wall inbore 42. Thus, retaining member 41 is constantly urged in downwarddirection by resilient means 53 to the extent determined by the lengthof peripheral slot or cutout 48. When not engaged by the ball 40, head46. of member 41 projects beyond the inclined surface 54 of upper web 19into the position 46' indicated in phantom lines in Fig. 4.-

The upper surface of stationary retaining member or screw 44 which isthreaded into the lower portion 45 of spindle 11 is formed with aconcave depression 55 (see Figs. 1 and 2) conforming to the contour ofball 40. The lower end 56 of member 44 forms the inner race for rollingelements 57 on which the portion 45 of spindle 11 rotates.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the distance between the vertical axes of wrist21 and spindle portion or shaft 45 equals the distance between the axisof member 21 and the verti cal axis of ball 40. Thus, when the axes ofretaining element 44, wrist 21 and pin 58, which latter connects link 35with piston 36, are in a common plane, ball 40 is received in theconcave seats 47 and 55 of retaining members 41, 44, respectively. Theball is held in such position by the pressure exerted by compressedspring 53. In other words the opposing convex and concave faces of saidball 40 and seats 47 and 55 cooperate with said spring 53 to anchor saidlink 35 in open door position. During the entry of ball 40 into itsseats between retaining members 41 and 44, the retaining member 41slides in upward direction, such movement being permitted by the cutout48 into which the stationary pin 50 extends. The inclination of surface54 is so chosen that the ball 40 is free to bypass the web 19 and thelower end of spindle portion 43 during its movements from the positionof Fig. 2 into that of Fig. 3, and vice versa.

When the door connected to arm 13 of the checking floor hinge should bereturned into closed position, the operator exerts suflicient pressurethereagainst to cause compression of resilient element 53 and consequentdisplacement of ball 40 from its respective seats 47 and 55, whereuponthe main spring 26 returns the door into closed position. 'Valve 38controls the velocity of such movement by permitting only gradualevacuation of fluid from cylinder 37 under the influence of advancingpiston 36. When the door is closed, piston 36 returns into the positionof Figs. 1 and 2.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the seats in the retaining members may assumea number of shapes different from those shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5.Referring first to Fig. 6, it will be noted, by comparing the structuretherein shown with Fig. 3, that the ball 140 is located off center inits link and that the seats 147, 155 in respective retaining elements141, 144 are also olf center. To be retained, ball must travel alonginclined surfaces 147a, 155a and between the crests 147b, 15Sb ofmembers 141, 144, respectively. It will also be noted that the externalthreads on retaining member 144 are omitted, member 144 being held inthe lower portion 145 of spindle 111 by a transverse retaining pin 159.The construction of upper portion 143 is identical with that of portion43 shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 7, seats 247, 255 in respective retaining mem-- bers 241, 244are in the form of truncated cones. This figure further shows that, inorder to facilitate its mounting, link'235 carrying the ball 240 isformed with a bifurcated end' 235a surrounding a portion of the wrist221 'forming part of the spindle 211 (see also Figs. 2 and 3). AU-shaped strap 260 is fixed to the bifurcated end 235a spindle is insaid extreme position.

by means of a pin 261 and with said end defines a cylindri cal passagefor the wrist 221. Other parts, of spindle 211 and of thehold opendevice in Fig. 6. n

Fig. 8 illustrates a different embodiment of my invention in which thelink 335 of the checking piston by itself constitutes the follower ofthe hold open device. Member 335 is provided with a pairof.seats,362,363 for reception of spherical elements 364, 365,respectively, which form part of the retaining means. Ball 364 isinstalled in upper retaining member 341 which is retained in the upperportion 343 of spindle 311 by. a pin 7 350, and is constantly urged intoretaining positionby the compressedcoil spring 353. Lower, retainingmember 344 is rigidly held in portion 345 by a pin 359 and is pro-'vided with a suitable seat topreferably rotatably hold the ball 365. Themode of operation of this hold open device is identical with that of theassembly shown in Figs. 1 to.3. .It. will benotedthat thestrap 360 hassufficient play on the wrist pin 321. to permit. slight upwarddisplacement of follower link 335. when the latter passesover the lowerball 365 while movingv its. seats 362, 363 into' position for receptionof. members.364, 365, respectively.

Having thus described the construction of my improved hold open device,I desire it to be understood that many additional variations in theconstruction and arrangement of its parts may be resorted to without inany way departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in thefol-' lowing claims.

I claim: Y

1. A hold open device for single acting checking floor hinges, having achecking piston which comprises, in combination: a cranked spindlehaving a vertical axis of rotation and connectable with a swinging doorfor rotation about the axis between an extreme position in which thedoor connected thereto is open and a neutral position in which the dooris closed, said spindle comprising an upper portion, a lower portioncoaxial with and vertically spaced from said upper portion whereby saidportions form a space therebetween, and a wrist axially parallel withand interconnecting said portions; a link pivotally connected with saidwrist and with said piston for movements with respect to said spindle ina substantially horizontal plane passing through said space, a part ofsaid link extending into said space when the spindle is in said extremeposition; and retaining means connected with at least one of saidportions and comprising a spring-biased retaining element normallyextending into said space and into the plane of said link for releasablyretaining the link whereby the spindle is retainedin said extremeposition and the door is maintained in open position, said retainingelement and. link having opposing convex and concave faces receiving oneanother when the spindle is I in said extreme position.

2. The'combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein said retainingelement is formed with a substantially concave seat and furthercomprising a spherical element installed in said link and received insaid seat when the spindle is in said extreme position. 7

3. The combination as set forth in claim '1, wherein said retainingelement comprises a spherical element at least partly extendable intosaid space and said link'is formed with a seat receiving said sphericalelement when the 4. A hold open device for single acting checking floorhinges having a checking piston which comprises, in combination: acranked spindle having 'a vertical axis of rotation and connectable witha swinging door for rotation about the axis between anextreme positionin which the door connected thereto is open and a neutral position inwhich the door is closed, the spindle comprising'an upper portion, alower portion coaxial with and vertically spaced-from said upper portionwhereby said portions form a space therebetween and one thereof having asubstantially vertical bore with an end opening into said space,

are identical with those shown:

ing the retaining element toward and partly into said.

space; means connected with said one portion for limiting'the movementof said retaining element into said space; and a link pivotallyconnected with said wrist and with said piston for movements withrespect to said spindle in a substantially horizontal plane passingthrough said space, a part of said link extending into said space whenthe spindle is in said extreme position, said link comprising aspherical element installed therein and engaged by said retainingelement when the spindle is in said extreme position, said resilientmeans releasably urging the retaining element into engagement with saidspherical element with a force sufficient to retain the spindle in saidextreme position and to maintain the door in open position. i 4

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a mainspring connected with said wrist and constantlyurging the spindle intosaid neutral position with a fixed force when the spindle is in saidextreme position, the force with which said resilient means acts againstsaid retaining element being greater than the force with which saidspring urges the spindle into neutral position whereby the sphericalelement remains engaged by the retaining element when the spindle is insaid extreme position.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein said retainingelement is a cylindrical member having a peripheral zone received insaid bore and an elongated cutout in said peripheral zone, and saidmeans for limiting the movement of said retaining element is a pin fixedto said one portion and extending into said cutout.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein said sphericalelement is eccentrically installed in said link.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a secondretaining element installed in the other of said portions and having asubstantially concave seat for reception of said spherical element whenthe spindle is in said extreme position.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein the other of saidportions has a bore with an end opening into said space, and furthercomprising a second retaining element rigidly received in said lastmentioned bore and formed with a seat for receiving said sphericalelement when the spindle is in said extreme position.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein said retainingelement has a seat for reception of said spherical element when thespindle is in said extreme position.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10, wherein said retainingelement has a vertical axis and said seat is eccentric with respect tosaid axis.

12. The combination as set forth. in claim 10, wherein said seat isshaped as a truncated cone.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 10, wherein said seat isconcave.

14. A hold open device for single acting checking floor hinges having achecking piston which comprises, in combination: a cranked spindlehaving a vertical axis of rotation and connectable with a swinging doorfor rotation about said axis between an extreme position in which thedoor connected thereto is open and a neutral position in which the dooris closed, said spindle comprising an upper,

{constantly urging said retaining element in a direction toward andsaidspherical element :partly into said space;

means for limiting the movement of said spherical element into saidspace; and a link pivotally connected with said wrist and with saidpiston for movements with respect to the spindle in a substantiallyhorizontal plane passing through said space and a part thereof extendinginto said space when the spindle is in said extreme position, said linkhaving a concave face receiving said spherical element when the spindleis in said extreme position, said resilient means releasably urging saidspherical element into the seat of said link whereby the spindle isretained in said extreme position and the door connected with saidspindle is maintained in open position.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 14, further comprising asecond spherical element connected with the other of said portions andsubstantially vertically aligned with said first mentioned sphericalelement, said link having a second concave face for reception of saidsecond spherical element when the spindle is in said extreme position.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a mainspring connected with said wrist for constantly urging the spindle witha fixed force into said neutral position when the spindle is in saidextreme position, the force with which said resilient means acts uponsaid retaining element being greater than the force with which saidspring acts upon said spindle, whereby the door connected with saidspindle remains open when the spindle isin said extreme position.

-17. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein said resilientmeans is a coil spring and said retaining element has a shoulder at itsside facing away from said space against which said coil spring abuts.

18. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein said retainingelement has a peripheral zone received in said bore and an elongatedcutout in said peripheral zone, and said means for limiting the movementof said retaining element into said space consists of a pin received insaid one portion and extending into said cutout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS987,467 Katzenberger Mar. 21, 1911 1,312,667 Ayres Aug. 12, 19191,827,595 MacGuire Oct. 13, 1931 1,832,699 Garrison Nov. 17, 19312,866,224 Ellis Dec. 30, 1958

